Religion Gone Bad

Have you ever experienced religion gone bad?  In our times we’ve seen religion gone bad in all kinds of ways.  The first time I recognized religion gone bad was when I was a new Christian.  When I came to faith in 1981, there were all these television preachers who all they ever did was ask for money to keep their empires going.  I remember one such televangelist telling his listeners, that if they’d just send in twenty dollars he’d send them a special prayer handkerchief, which would bless them if they used it whenever they prayed.  It wasn’t long before I realized that these men were basically con artists who were using the name of Christ to line their pockets at the expense of their naïve Christians.  So not only were they swindling innocent Christians of their hard-earned money, but they were giving Christ a bad name.  That was my first taste of religion gone bad

But then as I began serving in my own ministry, I began meeting people who were turned off by religion, because they’d been hurt by the church.  One of the common themes was the hurt experienced by someone who gone through a divorce.  Not only had their spouse left them, but now their church didn’t want anything to do with them. They were shunned – no longer accepted by the very people who should have shown them mercy and acceptance.  Another tragedy of religion gone bad.

Then I encountered those who had grown up in a legalist Church. To them religion was lifeless and burdensome.  It was all about keeping the rules.  It was all about doing the right things and avoiding the wrong things. But if you failed to do the right things, or if you were caught doing the wrong things, then you were condemned or even rejected by God’s people.  Another tragedy of religion gone bad.

Perhaps you’ve experienced religion gone bad yourself.  Perhaps you’ve been abused, rejected or condemned by those who should have shown you mercy or grace.  Or maybe you have a friend who refuses to darken a church door today, because they’ve been hurt or abused by religion gone bad.  But whatever your experience, we need to learn from the tragedy of religion gone bad.  We need to learn how religion gone bad blinds you to God’s work in the world.  How religion gone bad makes you do things that are the very opposite of Christianity, and how religion gone bad even makes you justify sin. But as we look at the tragedy of religion gone bad, we’re also going to see how God takes the worst-case scenario of religion gone bad and uses it to bring about His plan to bless the world today.  So, if you’re curious to see how this all works out, then let me encourage you to open your Bible to John 11:45-57, as we begin to unpack the tragedy of religion gone bad. So, if you’ve found John 11, let’s look now at the first characteristic of religion gone bad, and that is this:

1. Religion gone bad makes you blind to God’s Glory Religion gone bad blinds you from seeing God’s working in your midst.   Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.  So, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs.  John 11:45-47

What’s going on here?  What did these Jews who were with Mary witness?  Well, if you were with us a few weeks ago, Jesus had come to the home of Mary and Martha after hearing from them that Lazarus was ill. However, Jesus didn’t come right away.  He waited two days.  We soon learned the reason for his delay.  His delay meant that Lazarus would indeed die.  Now, this sounds cruel. But Jesus did say this: “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”  John 11:4 So, when Jesus finally arrived Lazarus has been dead and buried for four days.  Martha is disappointed, Mary is grieving. Friends and family are mourning with them. And Jewish religious leaders are there to comfort them.

So, what did these Jewish religious leaders witness?  What did they see Jesus do that caused some to believe in him and others run and tell the Jewish ruling council what Jesus had done?  What did they see?  They saw Jesus approach the tomb of Lazarus, they heard him pray to the Father, then they saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead.  They witnessed a miracle.

What they had witnessed was a miracle that only God could perform.  Only God can raise the dead.  Many saw this and believed.  But some did not.  Those who did not went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.  But then they said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs.”  Their question revealed their frustration with Jesus.  They were literally saying: “What are we accomplishing?”  Everything we are trying to do to dissuade people from following Jesus isn’t working, because this man keeps performing many signs…  Now, what’s crazy is that when they say Jesus performs many signs, their use of the word “signs” means they know that the miracles Jesus performs are from God, but they are blind to the reality that Jesus must be God.  They can’t see how Jesus is glorified through His miracles.  They are blind to God’s working right in their midst.

So here’s my question:  If they acknowledged Jesus’ miracles were from God, but refused to believe in Jesus, what gives?  Simply this: Their religion had blinded them to God’s glory.  They were so steeped in their traditions, so focused on their own rules, their own practices, and their commitment to their system of religion, that their religion had become their god – so much so that they could not and would not recognize God when He worked miracles right in front of them.  And that was a tragedy.

In fact, the same thing can happen in our day.  I have met people who are so entrenched in their religion that they can’t see the glory of Jesus.  I have met people who are so wrapped up in being religious that they are more concerned with following the rules of their religion than following Jesus.  And the sad truth is that many people still buy into the lie that being religious will save you – that if you do enough good things: if you go to church every week; if you tithe generously; if you serve at your food bank; read your Bible every day; drive the speed limit; pay your taxes; if you’re a good person; then God is obligated to bless you. But that’s empty religion. It doesn’t work.  Empty religion is about what you do for God and not about what God has done for you.  There is no grace, no faith, no mercy, no relationship, just religious performance. But the truth of the gospel is this: no amount of effort on your part will save you.  God has already sent a Savior and He has done the work to save you.  All that God requires of you is to believe in the One He has sent.

But these religious leaders – these experts of the law – they were supposed to be the most spiritual men in the nation of Israel.  And if we could have been present at this meeting, we would’ve listened as they opened their meeting in prayer. We would’ve been impressed by the priestly robes of the Sadducees and the little boxes containing Scripture-on their hands and foreheads.  But the tragedy of all of their religion and all of their biblical knowledge was this: they could not see the glory of God’s Son. You see, the real tragedy of religion gone bad is this: You can be very religious but totally lost.  Religion gone bad makes you blind to God’s glory. And that’s precisely what God’s Word tells us.  For the Bible says, The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4 God had come to them in the flesh. He had done works of mercy, redemption and even resurrection for them to witness – but they couldn’t see the glory of Jesus.  That was the tragedy of religion gone bad.

But that’s just the first tragedy we see from these men. Here’s the second tragedy:    2. Religion gone bad makes you self-centered  “If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”  John 11:48

What do you hear in their concerns?  They were concerned about losing their influence over the people. They were worried about losing their place of authority under Roman rule. For this ruling council – the Sanhedrin – this conglomeration of 71 men from the Sadducees, Pharisees and Priests, were given almost exclusive control of the internal government and affairs of the Jewish people. They were like our Supreme Court. But if people continued following Jesus, their place of authority would be in jeopardy. They could lose everything. Rome could take away both their place and destroy their nation.

So, what were they really concerned about?  Was it doing God’s will?  Was it accomplishing God’s purposes? No! Their concern was not for God, but for themselves. They were focused on maintaining their positions of power!  What we see in them here is a clear and striking picture of the self-centeredness of empty religion.  And what you can hear in their expression of losing their place and power is FEAR.  That’s what happens when religion goes bad.  Fear becomes the prominent motive behind whatever you do.  There’s no faith, just fear. Your religion becomes all about self-preservation.  You begin making decisions on what benefits you, not others.  So their focus was not on whether Jesus was right or good, or from God, but on how his actions would affect them.  They were more concerned about their comfort and convenience, their livelihood; their prestige, their power; so much so that their fear was about to lead them to make a very ungodly decision about Jesus.

But before we look at that decision, let me ask a probing question: Can this happen to us?  Can people who are devoted to Jesus, who want to learn how to live and love like Jesus fall into the trap of self-centered religion? Of course, we can.  How does this happen?  You fall into the trap of self-centered religion when your faith begins to focus on you, and not on Jesus.  You see, when someone has been truly born again and is following Jesus, her focus will be first on Jesus, second on other people, and finally on herself. But empty religion, focuses first on me. It focuses on my efforts. It’s all about maintaining my good works. And it’s primarily concerned with what benefits me. And what’s interesting about self-centered religion is that it goes very well with the philosophy of the world today.  Our world tells us that your life is all up to you. It’s up to you to protect your finances.  It’s up to you to provide comfort, convenience, and safety for your family. You are the consumer. You are the one in control.  You are the one calling the shots. It’s all about you.

But what happens when you struggle to protect your place in this world?  Anxiety clouds your thinking. Fear turns you into a control freak.  And people who threaten your comfort or security become enemies, not someone to love with the mercy and grace of Christ.  That’s the tragedy of religion gone bad – everyone’s looking out for themselves – and no one is loved, accepted or included.  And what’s even worse, is now that you are so self-focused – your self-preserving fear may even lead you to make ungodly choices.  And that’s precisely what happened next.

3. Religion gone bad makes you rationalize sin   But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”  John 11:49-50 Wow, the most powerful and prestigious religious leader of Israel steps up with a solution to deal with Jesus.  What Caiaphas is doing here is self-justification. Caiaphas calls for them to kill an innocent man because this will benefit them – it will save their place in the power structure of Israel and Rome, and it will save their nation.  But to convince his peers that doing such an evil thing would be possible for men of God, he declares that “it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”  Caiaphas seeks to convince his peers that their “good motive” of saving the nation would outweigh this “evil deed” of killing Jesus.

That’s what rationalizing sin does.  It’s playing a game with God: we look at an action that is wrong, but then begin to justify to ourselves why it’s really not all that bad.  And at the root of this justification is pride – our self-focused attempt to save ourselves. And these religious leaders had become experts at self-preservation.  For they agreed with Caiaphas: “from that day on they made plans to put him to death.” John 11:53

This is what happens when you let fear guide your decision process.  When your religion makes you justify sin, you’re no longer trusting God’s will – you’re trusting your own will.  And this is a dangerous thing.  For when you abandon faith in God’s will to justify your actions, the results can be devastating.  Look, these were supposed to be the godliest of men in all Israel.  But they buckled to the pressures of self-preservation.  They took matters into their own hands.  And they became convinced that killing Jesus was the right and moral thing to do – even though they could not deny his miracles were from God, even though his mercy healed a man born blind and even raised a man from the dead, and even though Jesus was innocent of any sin.  They believed they were justified in putting him to death.  That’s the tragedy of religion gone bad. And we definitely see that here.

But now our story takes a turn.  For from the pen of John we now learn that:

4. God used religion gone bad for our good.  For we see next, that Caiaphas’ words were planned by God to serve His purpose for the salvation of the world.  Look at the text: “You know nothing at all.  Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”  He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,  and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.  John 11:49b-52  God planned Caiaphas’ words to serve His own purpose. They held greater meaning than Caiaphas planned. Caiaphas’ intention was evil, but God ordained the death of Jesus. Peter makes this point clearly during his sermon on the Day of Pentecost: “Though he was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him” Acts 2:23. God decided for Jesus to die for the sins of all mankind. His death was not an accidental tragedy. His death fulfilled God’s eternal plan to redeem rebellious sinners and bring them into God’s family for all eternity.

Talk about turning the tables on evil.  The death of Jesus Christ “was going to” accomplish what God intended. His death was going to save those who God intended to save.  And His death was going to gather into one – the children of God who are scattered abroad.  His death was going to gather those who had been alienated from life with God into ONE FAMILY – the family of God; the Church.

If you have turned from your sin to trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior; if you’ve received the forgiveness His blood shed on the cross has provided; if you know that Jesus redeemed you from a life of emptiness and rebellion and adopted you into God’s family – then you can begin to see how God used religion gone bad – how God used the justifying schemes of evil men to bring about the death of Jesus.

Now, the Gospel of John begins to make sense.  I’ve always wondered why Jesus would continually frustrate these religious leaders.  Why would Jesus continually heal the lame on the Sabbath, or feed the five thousand, claim to be the bread come down from heaven? Why would Jesus go toe to toe with these religious leaders and claim to do the works His Father is doing; claim to be the living water, the light of the world, the great I am?  Why would he tell them they could not hear His voice because they were not His sheep?  Why would he tell them they were blind to the works of God?  Why would he continually contradict them, frustrate them, and all the while show them the merciful acts of God?  Why would he make sure the religious leaders were there to witness him raising Lazarus from the dead?   Why? It all goes back to what Jesus said in John 10,  And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.  For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. John 10:16-18  Jesus continually went toe to toe with these religious leaders gone bad, because he knew that as he revealed these signs; as He spoke God’s truth, these leaders would not simply reject him, but they would ultimately conspire to kill him.  So, everything Jesus did was setting the stage so that these men would hand him over to be crucified.  So that one day He would die not just for the nation of Israel, but for the whole world.

So then, how might God have you respond to His revelation today? First, there will always be the temptation to try to make your relationship with God about what you do for Him.  Don’t make it about what you do for God. Keep your focus on Jesus. On what He did for you. Not on what you do for Him.  Rest in His grace.

Second, there will always be people who use their religion to protect their power and position.  There will always be the temptation to let fear be their motivation.  Don’t give fear a foothold. Live by faith. So when it seems you’re losing your place in this world, remember you’ll always have a place in God’s family, you’ll always have a place secured with Him in eternity, and you’ll always have a place in God’s heart. So keep trusting in Jesus and embrace your place in His family.

Finally, there will always be people who use their religion to justify their sin.  Pray you won’t be one of them. Pray our church and our leaders will never fall to this temptation.  But if you do fall into sin, remember you have a God full of grace and mercy.  Go to Him, confess your sin, and return to your first love – Jesus.  For He is the only one who is full of grace and truth.  And He died for you to forgive all your sins – past, present, and future.  And He died for you to include you with Him in God’s family forever. Draw near to Him, and He will draw close to you and will keep your religion from ever going bad.  Let’s pray.